Kelowna, BC | Summerhill Pyramid Winery, Canada’s foremost producer of sparkling wine, has received a Double Gold Medal for its flagship Cipes Brut at the 2016 San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC). Celebrating its 25th vintage this fall, the Cipes Brut is the most consistently-awarded sparkling wine in Canada, having won a gold medal every year since release.

A visit from the late California vintner Jack Davies of Schramsberg Winery in the late 1980s, recognizing the potential of Okanagan grapes for sparkling wine production, inspired Summerhill’s founder, Stephen Cipes, to open Canada’s first ‘Champagne House’. The 1991 vintage of Cipes Brut was among the inaugural offerings for the winery, and it was released to instant critical and public acclaim.

One of the most versatile, food-friendly, and affordable sparkling wines in the market today, Cipes Brut offers trademark flavours of apple, pear, citrus. almond and toast. Recently, it also garnered a 92 point rating from Beppi Crosariol in the Globe & Mail, and 91 points from John Schreiner, the most respected authority on BC wine. Cipes Brut also won a Gold Medal at the 2015 BC Wine Awards, and was crowned Sparkling Wine of the Year at the 2014 All-Canadian Wine Championships, among many other accolades.

The winery received an impressive 10 medals in total at this year’s SFIWC, including another Double Gold Medal for its 2012 Cabernets, a Bordeaux-style blend of 100% organic Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, grown in Osoyoos.

The largest and most influential international wine competition in America, the 36th annual San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC) has been setting the standard for professional wine judging since its debut in 1980.

GALLERY

THE PEOPLE

ABOUT SUMMERHILL PYRAMID WINERY

Summerhill Pyramid Winery is a pioneering Okanagan Valley winery established in 1991. Owned and operated by the Cipes family, the winery has been a leader in organics, converting their own vineyard holdings to organic status shortly after the property was acquired in 1986, and helping to convert over 200 acres of Okanagan vineyards to certified organic status since then. The home vineyard in Kelowna is, as of 2012, BC’s first Demeter certified biodyamic vineyard. Summerhill considers their plots to be ‘vineyard ecosystems’ rather than viewing them as industrial farms. The philosophy of winemaking is that organic and biodynamic grapes, grown in harmony with the ecosystem, is the starting point for authentic, expressive, terroir driven wines. The portfolio of Summerhill wines has earned Summerhill the title of ‘Canadian Wine Producer of the Year’ from the IWSC in London, England (2009).

Summerhill has also been at the forefront of sparkling wine production in the Okanagan. The winery was founded with the production of Cipes Brut, a traditional method cuvee based on Riesling and Chardonnay, and has gone on to garner international acclaim for sparkling wines, including a gold medal from France (Chardonnay du Monde, 2000) and a trophy from England (IWSC, 2010), both for the estate grown Cipes Gabriel Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine.

The winery is also home to the Sunset Organic Bistro, featuring seasonal Okanagan wine paired cuisine in a rustic, relaxed atmosphere. Executive Chef Jonas Stadtländer draws from the bounty of regional organic farmers, including an onsite half-acre biodynamic vegetable patch.